I am looking forward to meeting artist, Lucy Hardie. I was introduced to Lucy's artwork by my best friend last year and I was awestruck at the intricacy and detail of her drawings and also the mysterious potency in the eyes of many of her characters. I am also drawn to her themes of death, transformation and rebirth. The artwork above, Mary, particularly intrigued me, I could sense so many layers, so many stories... Today Lucy shared the story behind this bewitching image and now I am even more eager to sit down and talk with her about the ancestral medicine carried in her lineage.

"This piece was inspired by my great grandmother, Louisa 'Mary' Dundas, who worked as a Medium in London in the early 1900's. A story that has been passed down through my mother's side is that my grandmother once walked in to the room when Mary was holding a séance and saw a person levitating. Another story is that when Mary saw a portrait that Hungarian artist, Philip Alexius de László had painted of her, she said he'd made her hair look like seaweed.

I used these stories in forming the composition. The poppies in her hair were included as my way of honouring her memory, and more broadly, as symbols of life after death, and awakening. While this image was inspired by an individual who I share a personal relationship with, I wanted to capture in her a sense of what exists in all of us, to evoke a deeper experience of who we are beyond our stories as separate self identities."

Limited edition giclée prints of Mary are available for purchase at Salt Contemporary Art, Queenscliff, Victoria, as part of Lucy Hardie's show, on now until Nov 24. Open Friday - Monday 11am - 5pm and Tuesday and Wednesday by appointment.